Traffic signal system



Oct. 25, 1938. A. c. BOETTGER TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEM Filed Jan. 16, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet l 4 R I 1 M O n V 1 W m E 14 0 x u i n A O mo B B, Q W I v u u 04 o w 0 g a x w VB. 2 3 m u 7 1 m a m 1 w 1. O 0 7 M 1 r 0 d 2 1 M a0 1. 5 a e x 4 E 5 J m a n w Oct. 25, 1938. A. c. BOETTGER 2,134,023

TRAFFIC S IGNAL SYSTEM Filed Jan. 16, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BY Angus 2*," aeiiywf Oct. 25, 1938. A. c. BOETTGER TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEM Filed Jan. 16, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR, fiw usi CBOKZiyeV, BY

vxx a zoawi ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 25, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to signalling systems and particularly to signalling systems used to control traiiic at street and road intersections.

The invention as specifically disclosed herein may be briefly outlined as follows: There is a whistle (by which I mean to include a horn or other device which is sounded by impelled air or other fluid) and means to discharge air thereto, the latter including a blower and an electric motor coupled with the rotary element of the blower.

The whistle has a valve which when opened allows the discharged air to blow the whistle, and this valve has electro-magnetic control means. An electric circuit for the motor and such control means is provided, and this has a circuitcloser by which the police ofiicer or other attendant can put in action the motor and blower and energize the control means for the opening of the valve, the consequent whistle blast being continuously sounded so long as the circuit-closer is maintained closed; for the circuit there is also circuit-closing means by which the oflicer, wishing to give a peremptory signal, may cause a long blast followed by short blasts or intermittent blasting to be sounded.

It will usually be desired to provide for varying the intensity of the whistle blasts at times (for instance, reducing it at night or in the vicinity of a hospital) wherefore the invention also contemplates means for varying the intensity of the airdischarge. This means is also electrically operated by the manual actuation of a single circuit-closer, and associated with it are electrically actuated tell-tales to indicate the loud or soft 5 sounding state of said means.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a front general elevation of the mechanism with the front wall of the major housing removed;

40 Fig. 2 is a similar elevation on a larger scale of the whistle housing, Whistle and other parts, the whistle appearing partly in section;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, as seen from the right, of what is shown in Fig. 2;

45 Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the intake tube, damper solenoid. and its associated mechanism, the casing 2| appearing in section;

Fig. 5 is a left side elevation of what is shown in Fig. 4;

50 Fig. 6 is a plan and Fig. '7 a side elevation of a certain reversing switch device;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation on a larger scale of mechanism within one of the housings of such device;

55 Fig. 9 is a front elevation of the cam and means for rotating the same, and Fig. 10 is a similar view of what is shown in Fig. 9 with the front plate of the frame of this part of the mechanism removed;

Fig. 11 is a diagram of the circuit connections; 5 and Fig. 12 is a plan of the main crank.

The mechanism is in part contained in a major housing I and in part in a minor housing 2 surmounting the major housing. The major 10 housing contains the actuated mechanism and the minor housing the control mechanism.

In the major housing is an electric motor 3 which drives a rotary blower 4 whose intake is a tube 5 having an oscillatory damper 6 and which 15 blower discharges into a whistle 1 contained in a case 8 which is open to the atmosphere through a louvered opening 9 in a side wall of the housing I.

The whistle is formed generally like a police 20 whistle but is slitted at the top forward of its air-outlet slot la and receives therein a slide valve I0 pivoted to one arm of a lever I I fulcrumed in the case 8 and whose other arm (exterior of the case) is formed partially as a counterbalance 5 weight Na and has projecting from it past the fulcrum an elastic blade IIb preferably equipped with a felt or other soft pad No. A solenoid I2 is attached to the outside of the case and its armature I3 has a pin I3a. A lever I4, ful- 3o crumed between its ends on the solenoid frame and reaching from the case, has its outer arm overhanging this pin and its inner arm connected to a link I5 whose upper end is slotted and receives in its slot the reduced end of the weighted arm of lever II. Such reduced end is receivedin the notch I6a (padded top and bottom with felt) of a block I6 affixed to the case and which is wide enough to permit some oscillation of lever II and consequent reciprocation of the whistle valve. A spring I! normally acts to hold lever I4 in the position of Fig. 3, or with the link holding the reduced end of lever II against the top of the notch, in which position lever II is held stationary (valve II closed) by lever I4 acting through the link. But if, the solenoid being energized, the armature I3 is elevated until its enlarged lower end is held near the solenoid frame, said armature will act through parts I4,

I8 and II to hold the valve in open position; nevertheless, with the armature so held elevated and tending thus to hold the valve in open position the lever II will still be free to be moved to close the valve (due to the slot in link I5) by pressure applied to its blade II b, as by an actuator 2 to be described. In short, in the normal or illustrated positions of the parts (the armature down), spring ll acts through lever i i, the link and lever I l to hold the whistle valve in closed position. When the solenoid is energized the lever l4 and link are moved to release lever ll, whereupon spring l8 acts through said lever to hold the whistle valve open; but if in that state of the parts the blade portion lib of lever ll is pressed the valve will be closed-as will appear, this pressing occurs intermittently and so will cause intermittent blasting of the whistle. (The position of the valve in Fig. 2 is taken as its closed position, since it then cuts oil such flow of air to the air-outlet la as will cause whistling.) Any suitable support 59 aifixed to the intake tube 5 has attached. thereto a solenoid 2B and a casing 2! for mechanism, actuated by the armature 22 of the solenoid, for determining the position of the damper 6. This armature has acepending rack 23 which is normally held by gravity acting on the armature against a vertically adjustable screw-stop 26 supported in a depending bracket Zia of the casing. A shaft 25, journaled in the casing and having a pinion Z6 meshing with the rack, is normally urged in the anti-clockwise direction (Fig. 4) by the weight of the armature and a helical spring 2'5 coiled about the shaft and connected to a collar 25a thereon and. to the casing. The shaft has aflixed thereto a ratchet 28. This is'engaged by a spring-pressed pawl 2% on a disk 3i) which forms a unit, rotative on the shaft, with a cam 3i and a ratchet 32, this ratchet being engaged by a spring-pressed pawl 33 on the casing. The teeth of ratchet 28 face clockwise so that when the armature rises the engagement of the ratchet with its pawl causes said unit to turn clockwise; when said armature is allowed to fall (pawl 29 clicking idly over ratchet 28) the other ratchet and pawl prevent counter-clockwise rotation of said unit. The throw of the armature is such only as to turn the shaft a half-revolution. But, since'the impulse imparted to the armature by the solenoid is sudden, said unit tends to overrun, or rotate more than a half-revolution. To prevent this there is a fin St on the rack adapted when it rises to be engaged by a stop-pin on the disk 30. The damper has an arm 36 held bearing against thecam by a spring 6a connecting the damper shaft'with the intake tube. On every 'otherupstroke of the armature the cam is turned to the position shown in Fig. 4, where it has permitted said arm to rise and the damper to be fully open; on the remaining upstrokes of the armature the cam is turned 180 from the position shown so that it depresses said armTa-nd the damper is in about the position a: in Fig. l. In the first position of the damper the blast is mild, for soft whistle blasting; in the second position the blast is strong, for loud whistle blasting.

, On the. housing 2 is a' frame 3i to the back plate of which is secured an insulating block 33 having a fixed contact 39 and an elastic yielding contact forming a circuit-closer at which as to its end shown hook-shaped may engage or disengage contact 39. There is a rotary member, comprising a shaft dl journaled in said frame, a segment 32 and a hook it (the segment and hook being fixed to the shaft) and an insulating block 54 carried by the segment which, under the influence of a spring 45 connecting said member with the frame, holds said member (specifically thesegment) normally against a stop as and hence block it. in the position to maintain circuitcloser a open and thus provide a break in the circuit. A crank 41 (normally urged clockwise by a spring as connecting it with some fixed point) having a stud lla to engage the hook d3, affords manual means to turn said member counter-clockwise until the segment engages a stop 39, upon which, if the handle is released, it will be returned by spring. '58 while (as will now appear) said member returns under the influence of spring :35 more slowly, or subject to means which opposes the action of the spring 5 to return it quickly. Meshing with the segment is a pinion 5%] formed as a unit with a gear 5i, and this gear meshes with a pinion 52 formed as a unit with a one-tooth ratchet 53, the spring 55, said member and the gearing to and inclusive of this ratchet forming the driving train. The

ratchet is engaged by a spring-pressed pawl 54 mounted on a gear 55 which is concentric with out free to rotate independently of the unit 5253 and which meshes with a pinion 55 formed as a unit with the ratchet 5? which coacts with an escapement pawl 58, such pawl and this gearing forming the driven train. When said member is manually turned counterclockwise (arrows, Fig. 1G) circuit-closer a closes, the spring 65 is put under tension and the gearing to and inclusive of the ratchet 53 is rotated relatively to the remainder of the gearing, the pawl 56 clocking idly over said ratchet. When, as by releasing the crank, said member is released the driving train rerotates and rotates the driven train but subject to the resistance afforded by the vibrating escapement pawl 58. When the driving train is made to drive the driven train there is driven as a part of the latter a cam 59 (controlling a circuit closer to. be referred to) which is a unit wtih the gear 55 and hasa series of equally spaced peripheral humps. In short, the function of the driving train is to drive thiscarn, the remainder of the driven train being means merely, as stated, to oppose fast rotation of the cam although the operator frees the crank to permit it to return under tension of its spring 58.

Fixed in the housing 2 in any way (not shown) are a plate til and a pair of casings 5!; On bosses 53a of the plate is fulcrurned a lever device or lever 62 which (as will appear) is normally held in the position of Fig. 6 but may be manually moved to theposition of Fig. '7 in which its circuit closer 12 engages a contact 6% of the plate Each casing contains Well-known circuit making and breaking means as follows: There is a cable 63 extending from the lever 62 through the corresponding boss and having a link 64 connected.

therewith, the link having a stud t le. This stud engages a notch in the end of a toggle-lever 65 having upper and lower hooks respectively engageable with the upper and lower edges 66a of a metal box 65 which is affixed to an insulating plate 5i which is itself suitably affixed in the casing. This toggle-lever has its outer end connected by a spring tit with a fulcrumed circuitcloser c which is'fulcrumed on the box at 69 (being insulated therefrom at l9) and which forms a. contact to engage the contact TI on the base. When the cable is pulled the toggle-lever shifts on its then fulcrum at one of the edges 65a until the spring passes the dead-center relation to the fulcrum 69, whereupon the toggle lever and circuit-closer 0 spring to their opposite positions hence alternate pulls on the cable cause engagement and the remaining pulls disengagement of thev circuit-closer c withcontact it. The two cables are connected to the'lever 62 and the springs hold the latter in its normal position (Fig. 6). On assembly of the casings and their contents with the plate 60 and lever 62 one of the circuit-closers is put in open and the other in closed position, wherefore on each operation thereafter of lever 62 they will reverse their positions.

12 is a relay whose armature I3 is normally held up by a spring 14 active on a plunger 15 which may exert depressing influence on blade I lb of lever I l to hold the whistle valve I!) closed,

At d (Figs. 1 and 11) is a circuit-closer to connect the system with service lines. At e and f are normally open circuit-closers to be referred to, the latter having a lug f.

The main circuit comprises a lead 16 (containing a condenser 11) which includes the motor 3 and is then branched, one branch 16a having the circuit-closer e and the other 161) the circuitcloser a. There is a shunt 18 around the motor and including the whistle-valve-controlling solehoid 12. There is another shunt 19 around shunt 78 and containing relay 72 and adapted to be connected with branch 16b by the circuit-closer I.

There is a shunt 80 which includes the dampercontrolling solenoid 20 and is adapted to be closed by the circuit-closer b and is connected (beyond such circuit-closer relatively to the solemold) to the unbranched portion of the main lead by branches 80a and 80b respectively having the circuit-closers c, said branches also containing, respectively, tell-tales, as lamps, L (for loud) and S (for soft).

The operation (excluding that of the damper for the meanwhile) is as follows, assuming d to be closed:

The normal position of parts iii-l I, which I term the air-flow controller, is closed, i. e., the actuator formed by solenoid i2 is de-energized and spring I! is acting through lever l4 and link l5 to hold the controller in the position of Fig. 2. If said actuator be energized by the closing of e or a the means l4l5, being retracted by armature l3, shifts to the position to free the controller and actually acts through spring I8 to hold the controller yieldingly in open position. If, in this condition of the controllenthe relay 12 be energized its plunger-15 (which, in effect, is an extension of its armature) will press down on the blade Ilb of the controller and so move the same to closed position against the tension of spring I8.

Suppose the attendant wishes to sound the whistle non-intermittently, or by a single relatively long blast. He closes e, wherefore the motor and blower will be driven and the actuator energized and the blast will be sounded as long as e remains closed.

If he wishes to signal peremptorily he pulls down crank 41 to store up energy in spring 45 and on release of the crank cause rotation of the cam or interrupter 59. The downward movement of the crank involves the closing of a (which remains closed until, the crank being released, the segment 42 reassumes its rest position against stop 46), so that the motor and blower are driven and the actuator energized to cause the controller to be held yieldingly (by spring l8) in open posi tion. In view of this condition of the controller there will be a continuous blast of the whistle during the downstroke of the crank and so long as it is held against return.v When the crank is released the cam or interrupter 59 is rotated so that its humps successively engage lug f of circuit-closer f to close the latter, and on each such closing, the actuator formed by relay 12 being thus energized, plunger 15 depresses the controller to closed position against the tension of spring l8, wherefore during the rotation of the interrupter the reciprocated controller causes intermittent blasting of the whistle. In other words, the pulling down of the crank followed by its release effects sounding of the whistle in one long blast followed by a series of short blasts. Of course, when the rotation is checked by segment 42 engaging stop 46, a is opened to de-energize the actuator l2 so that armature l8 through spring I? again acts to hold the controller closed; further, the rotative position of the interrupter is then such that the hump adjacent to lug f is clear thereof, thus not to leave relay 12 in such condition (energized, and hence plunger 15 holding the controller closed) that the closing of 6 would be abortive to sound the whistle.

Besides functioning to cause intermittent whistle-blasting the controller serves this other function: There is no fading of the blast incident to the slowing down of the motor and blower when the current to the motor is cut off since when e or a is allowed to open solenoid I2 is also cut off and parts l3-l4l5 move the controller instantly to closed position.

The damper is shiftable to two positions, as indicated (position x for loud and the other position for soft blasting of the whistle), by closing circuit-closer b. Successive closing thereof and hence energizings of solenoid 20 cause, as described, part-turns, alternately in opposite directions, of the damper. Since successive closings of b close .0 and c in alternation these latter will put in circuit the respective tell-tales L and S to indicate the position of the damper at any time.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim is:

1. Signal mechanism comprising a whistle, a fluid-flow controller lever movable to either of two positions in one of which it is in and in the other of which it is out of the path of actuating fluid for the whistle, and means normally holding the lever in one of said positions and movable to release the same, said lever on such movement of such means being urged to the other position but free to be moved to the first position.

2. Signal mechanism comprising a whistle, a fiuid-fiow controller movable to either of two positions in one of which it is in and in the other of which it is out of the path of actuating fiuid for the whistle, means normally holding the controller in one of said positions and movable to release the same, said controller on such movement of such means being urged to the other position but free to be moved to the first position and means, on such movement of the first means, to move the controller to the first position.

3. Signal mechanism comprising a whistle, a fluid-flow controller lever movable to either of two positions in one of which it is in and in the other of which it is out of the path of actuating fluid for the whistle, means normally holding the lever in one of said positions and movable to release the same, said lever on such movement of said means being urged to the other position but free to be moved to the first position, and means, on such movement of the first means, to repeatedly move the lever to the first position.

4. Signal mechanism comprising a whistle, a fluid-flow controller movable to either of two positions in one of which it is in and in the other of which it is out of the path of actuating fluid for the Whistle, an electro-magnetic actuator,

, its other limit, a second electro-magnetic actuator having its armature, when the second actuator is energized, adapted to move said controller to the first position, circuit-forming means having a portioniormed with a break therein and including the first actuator and a normally open portion including the second actuator, means to close or open the break in the first circuit-portion, and means to close the second circuit-portion while the break is closed.

5. Signal mechanism comprising a whistle, a fluid-flow controller movable to either of two positions in one of which it is in and in the other of which it is out of the path of actuating fluid for the whistle, an electro-magnetic actuator, means, including an armature for the actuator, to hold the controller in one of said positions when the armature is at one of its limits determined by the energized or de-energized state of the actuator,

said controller being yieldingly urged to the other position when said means moves to a position in which the armature is at its other limit, a second electro-magnetic actuator having its armature,

when .the second actuator is energized, adapted to move said controller to the first position, circuitforming means having a portion formed with a break therein and including the first-actuator and a normally open portion including the second actuator, means to close or open the break in the first circuit-portion, and means to alternately open and close the second circuit-portion while the break is closed.

6. Signal 'mechanism comprising a whistle, a fluid-flow controller movable to either of two positions in one of which it is in and in the other of which it is out of the path of actuating fluid for the whistle, an electro-magnetic actuator, means, including an armature for the actuator, to hold the controller in one of said positions when the armature is at one of its limits determined by the energized or de-energized state of means, including an armature for the actuator, V

to hold the controller in one of said positions when the armature is at one of its limits determined by the energized or de-energized state of the actuator, said controller being yieldingly urged to the other position when said means moves to a position in which the armature is at its other limit, a second electro-magnetic actuator having its armature, when the second actuator is energized, adapted to move said controller to the first position, circuit-forming means having a portion formed with a break therein and including the first-actuator and a normally open portion including the second actuator, a circuit-closer for the break normally urged tomove to closed position, means holding said circuit-closer in open position and movable therefrom to release the same and back, and means, actuated by the lastnamed means upon such backward movement thereof, to alternately open and close the second circuit-portion while the break is closed.

8. Signal mechanism comprising a whistle, a fluid-flow controller movable to either of two positions in one of which it is in and in the other of which it is out of the path of actuating fluid for the whistle, an electro-magnetic actuator, means, including an armature for the actuator, to hold the controller in one of said positions when the armature is at one of its limits determined by the' energized or de-energized state of the actuator, said controller being yieldingly urged to the other position when said means moves to a position in which the armature is at its other limit, a second electro-magnetic actuator having gized, adapted to move said controller to the first position, circuit-forming means having a portion formed with a break therein and including the first-actuator and a normally open portion including the second actuator, a circuit-closer for the break normally urged to move to closed position, geared means holding said circuit-closer in open position and movable therefrom and normally urged to move back, a normally open circuitcloser for the second circuit-portion, and an interrupter to be clutched and moved by said gearing means when the latter moves back and having a series of humps to move the circuit-closer repeatedly to closed position. 7

AUGUST C. BOETTGER. 

